Building social connections project resources

Recordings & slides

Workshop 3

• Workshop 3: Transcript notes from the “ask an expert” breakout sessions

• Workshop 3 prep document for participants

• Workshop 3 video recording (please note the public version posted later will not include Q&A)

• Workshop 3 slides from Happy Cities & Hey Neighbour Collective

• Workshop 3 Little Mountain Case study slides from Happy Cities

  Workshop 2

• Workshop 2: Transcript notes from the five “ask and expert” breakout sessions, plus Q&A with Robert Brown

• Workshop 2 video recording (please note the public version posted later will not include Q&A, only plenary speakers)

• Workshop 2 slides from Happy Cities & Hey Neighbour Collective

• Workshop 2 prep document for participants

  Workshop 1

• Workshop 1: Transcript notes from the five “ask an expert” breakout sessions

  • Video: Room 1, Bruce Haden

  • Slides: Room 5, Rodrigo Alba

• Workshop 1 video recording (please note the public version posted later will not include Q&A, only plenary speakers)

• Workshop 1 slides from Happy Cities & Hey Neighbour Collective

• Workshop 1 prep document for participants
  
  

  Reports and tools from Hey Neighbour Collective, Happy Cities, and SFU

• Building Social Connections Toolkit

  • Building Social Connections Toolkit: Age-friendly edition

• North Vancouver Active Design Guidelines post-occupancy study & engagement public summary report

• Webinar recording: Housing that connects us

• Webinar recording: A conversation with UK innovators

• Webinar recording: Untangling the affordability puzzle

• Case studies to inspire socially connected multi-unit housing

• Policy case studies (UK, Toronto, New York, Port Moody) 

• VCH/Happy Cities study (Metro-Vancouver wide study on density, unit size, and wellbeing) 

• Age-friendly, socially connected multi-unit housing study (audit results from 20 Brightside and Concert buildings) 

• Designed to Engage report

• Hey Neighbour Collective Practice guide #4: Roles for Local Governments

• Hey Neighbour backgrounder – How social connectedness between neighbours supports health and wellbeing

• Discussion paper by HNC – for Metro 2050 Regional Growth Strategy consultations: Developing Truly Complete Communities: Social equity, social connectedness, and multi-unit housing in an age of public health and climate crises

• Happy Homes interactive toolkit

Other links (from guest experts & related topics)

• A Scan of Leading Practices in Affordable Housing, BC Housing (2017). This document prepared by BC Housing gives a good overview of municipal tools for creating affordable housing.

• A tale of two renters: Housing affordability among recent and existing renters in Canada (2023). Stats Canada looks at renal affordability in Canada.

• A vision for the future: Towards an Architecture Policy for Canada (2023). The ROAC was created to examine the lack of housing design policy in Canada and looks at international examples where high quality design is more regulated.

• Active Design Guidelines, New York City (2010). These Active Design Guidelines were a big inspiration for the City of North Vancouver’s own policy document.

• Aging in Place Design Guidelines, Enterprise Green Communities (2016). These design guidelines provide a comprehensive look at aging in place, including detailed unit design considerations

• British Columbia urban, rural, and northern Indigenous housing strategy, AHMA (2022). This strategy offers a thorough analysis and evidence on the housing needs of Indigenous residents.

• British Columbia’s 2023 Local Government Housing Supply Initiatives, Gary Penway Consulting (2024). This provides a summary of the impacts of Bill 44, 46, 47, orders of council, SSMUH policy manual, and TOA Policy manual.

• Brique par brique housing investment model (Shared by Jessica Chen).

• Building to Net-Zero Jurisdictional Scan (2025). This resource shares energy requirements and policy from across Canada from ICLEI.

• Equity by Design Webinar Series, AARP (2021 – 2023). This webinar series explores the design of our built environment through various equity lenses.

• Exploring innovation in housing typologies (2018). A white paper from OCAD University on exploring innovative housing typologies in the Canadian housing market.

• Fluid sociability software (2025). A simulator that helps measure social potential in multi-unit housing by Fluid Architecture.

• Gentle Density ByLaw Guide (2025). Released by Small Housing BC.

• Housing our Ageing Population Panel for Innovation (HAPPI) (2009 – present). This series explores the housing needs of older adults in the UK.

• Housing supply mix strategy 4: Non-market Housing (2024). Resource from TMU, University of Toronto, and School of Cities.

• Human Studio Architecture + Urban Design presentation (2023). This shares the innovative housing work that Human studio is undertaking in Vancouver.

• Public Architecture (2024). This report explores the potential of point block access designs.

• Rehousing project website (2025). This highlights Missing Middle housing options and citizen-led development focused on Toronto.

• Rental Protection Fund website (2024). BC’s innovative funding program to create more non-market housing through acquisition.

• Small Housing BC Design Catalogue (2024). Catalogue of design solutions for missing middle housing.

• Standardized Housing Designs, Province of BC (2024). Published by the BC Ministry of Housing for missing middle housing.

• The Municipal Role in Housing, IMFG (2022). Contributors: Jill Atkey, Lilian Chau, Nick Falvo, Alexandra Flynn, Penny Gurstein, Craig Jones, Greg Suttor, Carolyn Whitzman.

• The non-capitalist solution to the housing crisis (2022). Video by About Here and Vancity exploring non-market housing concepts.

• Unlocking livable, resilient, decarbonized housing with Point Access Blocks, Larch Lab (2021). This document, created for the City of Vancouver, offers an innovative look at designing multi-unit housing that allows for greater sociability and affordability.

• Women-Centred Housing Design Toolkit, BC Society of Transition Houses (2023). This design toolkit created by the BC Society of Transition Houses explores women-centered design strategies.